Tide-actuated hydraulic air-compressor.



No. 759,334. PATENTED MAY 10, 1904; W. O. WEBBEB. TIDE AGTUATED HYDRAULIC AIR COMPRESSOR.

APPLICATION FILED 10:50:26. 1902.

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WITNESSES No. 759,334. PATENTED MAY 10, 1904. k W. 0. WBBBER. V

TIDE AGTUATED HYDRAULIC! AIR COMPRESSOR. APPLICATION FILED 1130.26. 1902.

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Patented May 10, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM O. l/VEBBER, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

TlDE-ACTUATED HYDRAULIC AIR-COMPRESSOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 759,334, dated May 10, 1904.

Application filed December 26, 1902. Serial No. 136,557. (No model.)

T0 aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM OLIVER VVEB- BER, of the city of Boston, county of Suffolk, and State of Massachusetts, have invented a Tide Actuated Hydraulic Air Compressor; and I do hereby declare that the following is a clear, full, and exact description of the same.

This invention relates to a tide-actuated h ydraulic air-compressor, and has for its purpose the operation of a hydraulic air-compressing apparatus of the general type patented to J. P. Frizell January 29,1878; Baloch 8: Krahnass May 5, 1885; T. Arthur May 29, 1888; Charles H. Taylor July 23, 1895, and January 24, 1899, and to myself October 9, 1900.

Figure 1 is a plan view of the head-tank and inlet-head of a hydraulic air-compressing apparatus with the necessary gates and waterpassages leading thereto and the necessary gates and water-passages leading from the uptake therefrom. Fig. 2 is a vertical section on the line 1 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is avertical elevation on the line 3 4 of Fig. 1.

Reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which similar characters represent the corresponding parts in all the views, A is the head-tank of the compressor.

B is the inlet-head.

C and C are flotation-tanks for supporting the inlet-head, so that the air-bars 0 will be kept at a constant depth below the level of the head-water in the head-tank. Below the air-bars a sleeve G is provided entering the downflow-pipe G of the compressor to form a telescoping or slip joint. The air may be fed to these bars 0 through passage 0 extending to an annular chamber 0, across the axis of which the air-bars extend and communicate therewith at their opposite ends.

E is the inlet-passage to the head-tank, having three openings, one, 6, leading directly into the head-tank from the passage" way E, 0 leading to the ocean, and a leading to a bay on the opposite side from the ocean of the dam in which the head-tank is situated.

D is a passage-way forming an outlet from the uptake of the air-compressor F and connecting with the ocean through the passage way d and with the bay through (i', as heretofore described for the inlet-passage.

The grade of the bottom of the outlet-passage D is below that of the inlet-passage E. The inlet-passage E is provided with two inwardly-opcning hinged gates c and e. The outletpassage is provided with two. outwardly-opening gates (Z and 2.

G is the downflow-pipe of the compressor.

The lower part of this compressor is similar to those already shown in the patents cited above, the details of which do not form part of this invention, but simply consist of a prolongation of the downflow-pipe G to any given depth, an enlarged chamber below, and the upliow passage-way F, surrounding the down'l'low-pipe.

The operation of this invention is as follows: The drawings show the action as taking place after the tide has commenced to fall in the ocean and the volume of impounded water in the bay, which is cut off from the ocean by the dam before mentioned, in which the apparatus described herein is situated, has begun to flow through the compressor. The impounded water, therefore, is entering the opening 0 of the passage-way E, swinging open the gate a and closing the gate 0 then flowing through the opening 6 into the headtank A, then descending through the submerged air-bars 0, down the downflow-passage Gr, up the upflow-passage F, into the outlet-passage 1), through the opening (Z, opening the swinging gate (Z and thereby passing into the ocean, the swinging gate (Z being held closed by the Water in the bay pressing upon the outer side thereof. As the water falls in the bay the water will correspondingly fall in the head-tank A, and the submerged. air-bars will descend as the height of the water falls in the tank until the flotation-tanks O and O rest upon the bottom of the headtank A, as shown. Shortly after this has occurred the apparatus will cease to operate, because there will not be suflicient difference in level between the height 01 the water in headtank A and the tail-race D to overcome the friction in the downflow and upl'low passages. The direction of the water, as just described, is shown by the arrows. The apparatus will then remain in an inoperative state until the tide has risen high enough in the ocean to cause the inlet-gate e to open, closing at the same time the inlet-gate 6*, opening the outlet-gate (Z and closing the outlet-gate (Z When the level of the water has attained sufficient height in the passage E and the head-tank A above that in the tail-race D to overcome the friction in the downflow-pipe G and upflow-passage F, the

plant will start in operation again and continue in operation for a period of time after the tide has reached its highest point sufficient for the water in the tail-race D and the bay into which it opens to have risen to such a height that the differences in head will not be able to overcome the friction above described, at which time the plant will again become inoperative until the tide in the ocean has fallen a sufficient distance for the first-described operation to begin again.

Having fully described my invention, what I desire to claim and secure by Letters Patent is as follows:

1. Adike spanning the neck of a tidal basin, a hydraulic air -compressor consisting of a single shaft with a downflow-passage therein located in said dike, an inlet water passageway connectingsaid tidal basin with the ocean, and communicating with the head-tank of said hydraulic air-compressor, an outlet passagewayconnecting said tidal basin with the ocean and communicating with the upflow of said air-compressor, substantially as described.

2. A dike spanning the neck of a tidal basin, a hydraulic air-compressor consisting of a single shaft with a downflow-passage therein located in said dike, an inlet water passageway connecting said tidal basin with the ocean, and communicating with the head-tank of said hydraulic air-compressor, an outlet passageway connecting said tidal basin with the ocean and communicating with the upfiow of said air-compressor, both passage-ways provided with gates adapted to be automatically actuated by the rise and fall of the tide, substantially as described.

3. A dike spanning the neck of a tidal basin, a hydraulic air-compressor consisting of a single shaft with a downflow-passage therein located in said dike, an inlet water passageway connecting said tidal basin with the ocean, and. communicating with the head-tank of said hydraulic air-compressor, an outlet passageway connecting said tidal basin with the ocean and communicating with the upflow of said air-compressor, both provided with gates, and adapted to cause any flow of Water from either direction to pass through the hydraulic aircompressor, substantially as described.

4. An inlet passage-way connecting a tidal basin with the ocean and communicating with the head-tank of a hydraulic air-compressor consisting of a single shaft with a downflowpassage therein provided with inwardly-opening gates, and an outlet passage-wayconnecting the tidal basin with the ocean and with the tail-race of a hydraulic air-compressor provided with outwardly-opening gates, substantially as described.

5. In a hydraulic air compressor consisting of a single shaft with a downfloi -passage therein the combination of an inlet passageway, connecting the'head-tank of said aircompressor with a tidal basin and an outlet passage-way connecting the upflow of said aircompressor with the ocean, substantially as described.

6. In a hydraulic aircompressor consisting of a single shaft with a downflow-passage therein the combination of an inlet passageway connecting the head-tank of a hydraulic air-compressor with the ocean, and an outlet passage-way connecting the upflow of said aircompressor with a tidal basin, substantially as described.

7. In a hydraulic air-compressor consisting of a single shaft with a downflow-passage therein the combination ofan inlet passageway at a higher level connectinga tidal basin with the ocean and communicating with the head-tank of a hydraulic air-compressor, and an outlet passage-way at a lower level connecting the tidal basin with the ocean and communicating with the upflow of said air-compressor, substantially as described.

8. In a hydraulic air-com pressor, the combination with a water-inlet head and downflowpassage therefrom, of an air-inlet submerged in said head, and floats for maintaining said air-inlet automatically at a constant submersion within the head, substantially as described.

9. In a hydraulic air-compressor, the combination with a water-inlet head and downflowpassage therefrom, of an air-inlet submerged in said head, a depending sleeve beneath the air-inlet telescoping with said passage, and floats for maintaining said air-inlet and sleeve submerged within the head, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto affixed my signature in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM O. EBBER.

lVitnesses:

HELEN A. MoYLAN, VIVIAN A. HOVEY. 

